Nordic has released an updated version of Dungeon Lords, based on Dungeon Lords MMXII.  They seem to have squashed quite a few bugs and given a lot of tweaks.  The changelog can be found here.

Thank you, Avantenor!

More information.

GameBanshee reviews the latest Dungeon Lords installment. After the buggy original and the imroved CE version, here is MMXII.

Let me start with the good news here.  The original versions of Dungeon Lords had bugs in them that could prevent you from completing the game.  In the original Dungeon Lords, sometimes the gate leading out of the starting city wouldn't open, preventing you from seeing about 90% of the game, and even in the CE, the Shadow Ruins were broken, and if you left that area before collecting the Relic of Power, then there wasn't any way to get back inside, and your game was broken.  As far as I'm aware, no bugs like that exist in MMXII.  The MMXII bugs are just irritations.

So what's currently wrong?  None of the skills or spells have descriptions, making it difficult to tell what they do.  Weapons along with armor can be damaged, but weapons lose durability so fast that there isn't any way to keep them repaired (there's a repair skill, but for some reason repair kits are rare drops, and so the skill is almost worthless).  Once you pick up a Crystal of Life (which happens early in the game) death no longer has a penalty.  There isn't any way to advance time, so sometimes you're forced to explore in the dark.  It's possible for high level characters to lose the ability to learn new spells.  The game is sloppy with quest items, and you can lose half of your inventory space to them.  The game automatically decides whether you should use a ranged or melee weapon, but this process is a disaster, and it probably means you won't equip a ranged weapon.  The manual wasn't updated properly, and half of its information refers to the original game and is no longer relevant.

GameBanshee has the first part of an interview with D.W. Bradley on Dungeon Lords MMXII. On the re-worked spell system:

What new spells have you added to the game, and what changes are you making to the magic system as a whole?

D.W. Bradley: The most significant change was to make all magic spells share a common Mana pool, providing players much greater freedom of choice for casting magic spells during combat. Mana is directly influenced by the Hero's Intellect attribute, allowing players to decide whether to improve attributes for better Magic or Melee capabilities when they Level Up. Nether spells are no longer mixed with Nether Katals, instead, each Nether spell requires one specific associated Nether Katal to cast in addition to its Mana cost, but the Katals are consumed much more slowly, allowing Nether spells to be cast more than once with a single Katal (Alchemy skill makes Katals last longer). Rune spells were also revised to use Mana, and Runestones have been removed from the game. Casting times and cooldowns are now displayed for the spells when cast, and this visual feedback makes use of magic much easier and intuitive during battles.

The decision to assign the different schools of Magic according to the Basic Classes necessitated that all of the Magic Spells be revisited and rebalanced, and new spells were added to supplement the Basic Class associated with that Magic school, for example the new Rune Blast spell for Fighters, Bloodstrike (a healing strike) for Rogues, Frost Missile for Mages, and Shadowstrike for Adepts. A number of the original spells were also revised, for example Rune Speed now increases fighting and movement speed, granting Fighters and Adepts ability to run faster in the game for a limited time. The Warding spells moved from Rune Magic to Crystal Magic, however, the Boon spells affecting a multiplayer group remain as Rune spells, allowing Fighters to pump up and inspire the party for improved Melee combat.

The changes to the Magic system and spells represented a major undertaking for DL MMXXII, but I felt they were necessary to provide greater distinction between the different Classes, and I wanted the player's choice of Classes to result in very different gameplay experiences with regard to combat tactics and survival strategies.

Courtesy of Gamebanshee, it seems that Dungeon Lords MMXII has been released. You can get it at Green Man Gaming for 14.99 US dollars, though it seems it is currently out of stock? Here's a quote about the key features:

Co-op story mode for up to 8 players and full single-player game experience 50-70 hours

 Completely reworked intuitive Graphic User Interface

 New Multiplayer Features

 Dual Switchable Interface Modes (supports Hot- Key action play and Point&Click play)

 Updated full hardware Screen Resolution support (16:10, 16:9, 1920x1080 etc.)

 New quick-start Hero character creation system

 All new Magic system including new Magic Spells

 New Hero Classes, new and improved Class Skills, and new unique class action abilities

If you want to know more about the game, please go here.

I kid you not. Nordic Games sent us this press release, announcing an "updated", "HD remake" release of D.W. Bradley's Dungeon Lords:

Nordic Games joins forces with RPG mastermind D.W. Bradley and Heuristic Park

VIENNA, AUSTRIA (April 13 2012) - Nordic Games proudly announces its latest cooperation with D.W. Bradley and Heuristic Park. D. W. Bradley, famous for creating three of the legendary Wizardry titles (Wizardry V – Heart of the Maelstrom, Wizardry VI – Bane of the Cosmic Forge, Wizardry VII – Crusaders of the Dark Savant) and the epic 3D Fantasy RPG Wizards & Warriors, is creating a new Re-master of his epic RPG-classic game, Dungeon Lords. The title of the remake: Dungeon Lords MMXII.

„It is a great opportunity to work on the Re-Master of Dungeon Lords with Mr. Bradley himself. We will deliver a hardcore RPG experience to old as well as new fans. We think that our gameplay changes will deliver new fun and excitement, all in Full HD”, comments Gennaro “Genna” Giani, Producer at Nordic Games.

"I'm delighted to be working with Nordic on the new re-master of Dungeon Lords MMXII, it's a rare opportunity for an author. Dungeon Lords is pure and true RPG, there are no mindless quests to kill 20 of these and find 12 of those, at least not without giving you a very good reason for it. The story is full of plot twists and turns, players must stay alert and use their wits to solve the puzzles, and monsters don't like intruders. The new magic and action system makes the game sizzle with fun, and I'm excited to be pumping it up and bringing this epic RPG experience to a new generation of gamers..." comments D.W.Bradley the author of Dungeon Lords.

Features:

 

• Co-op story mode for up to 8 players and full single-player game experience
• 50-70 hours
• Completely reworked intuitive Graphic User Interface
• New Multiplayer Features
• Dual Switchable Interface Modes (supports Hot-Key action play and Point&Click play)
• Updated full hardware Screen Resolution support (16:10, 16:9, 1920x1080 etc.)
• New quick-start Hero character creation system
• All new Magic system including new Magic Spells
• New Hero Classes, new and improved Class Skills, and new unique Class action abilities
• New Character Advancement and Level Up with auto-learn Magic system
• All new Quest and Log System
• New Mini Map and Full Map Screens
• Full World and Character Re-mastering for enhanced gameplay experience
• New dynamic Treasure & Equipment generation, featuring Uncommon, Rare & Epic items
• New Inventory and Loot Bag System
• Improved Graphic & Visual Enhancements
• Newly Re-Mastered Audio sounds and speech

Worthplaying has spotted a patch for the German Collector's Edition of Dungeon Lords, which apparently was potentially unplayable:

JoWood has released a new patch for the Collectors Edition of Heuristic Park's action/RPG Dungeon Lords, fixing various text issues which could make some quests unsolvable and sometimes even made it impossible to finish the campaign.

No jokes, please.

GameBanshee has been graced with a handful of Dungeon Lords: The Orb and the Oracle screens. 

Well, well, well:

JoWooD Productions and DreamCatcher Games Announce
The Orb and the Oracle

June 25, 2008, Toronto, Canada: JoWooD Productions and DreamCatcher Games, leading publishers of interactive entertainment software around the world, today announced The Orb and the Oracle will release Winter, 2008 for Windows® as the next installment in the bestselling saga, Dungeon Lords.

“We have eagerly anticipated releasing a new installment in the Dungeon Lords saga,” said Byron Gaum, Global Product Marketing Manager at DreamCatcher Games. “We’re really excited to offer Dungeon Lords fans a new dose of the combat, magic and incredible quests that this fantasy RPG is known for.”

Created by legendary RPG game author, D.W. Bradley, The Orb and the Oracle boasts a massive fantasy world filled with incredible action and meticulously detailed indoor and outdoor environments. Offering both single and multiplayer co-op game modes, the game is sure to engage RPG fans for hours on end!

The game features an advanced and robust combat system coupled with devastating magic spells for a variety of ways to vanquish your foes in real-time. Set to the tone of an epic soundtrack, players should prepare themselves for an unforgettable journey.

The Orb and the Oracle for Windows® will sell for an SRP of $39.99 USD. The anticipated ESRB rating is T for Teen. For further information please visit our website at www.dreamcatchergames.com.

Taken from the Qt3 forums but it looks genuine to me. 

We're planning to publish an irregular series of retrospectives going forward and Michael "txa1265" J. Anderson is first cab of the rank, starting with D.W. Bradley's Dungeon Lords. Why Dungeon Lords? You'll have to ask Mike about that but in the meantime, this article should give some insight. Here's a snip:

Braindead: when advancing in tiers of your class path you will be presented with the requirements for that level and whether or not you meet those requirements. For example, if you start as a Mage and complete the quest to become Sorcerer as a second-tier Mage class, the guild master will say ‘The Requirements are X, you meet those, would you like to advance?’ But you might realize that you don't actually meet any of those requirements! Don't worry - class advancement requirements are on the honor system! Seriously though, it looks like they wanted to implement them but didn't integrate them well enough that folks would be prepared, and the thought of forcing players to trudge back and forth checking requirements caused them to pitch the requirements...but not the dialogue stating whether or not the player met them.

Read it here.

From the 'I can't make this stuff up' department comes an announcement from JoWood regarding the future of the poorly received Dungeon Lords:

JoWood Productions announced today that it will release Dungeon Lords: Expansion (working title) for Windows in Q3, 2008. At the same time, the company announced the development of Dungeon Lords 2 (working title) for a next-gen console platform and the Windows platform for home personal computers.

Not requiring the base game, the Expansion Pack is a complete stand-alone game and will contain an all new story which acts as a link between the original game and the Sequel. The Sequel will deliver an all new graphics and physics engine, a new epic quest and all new art.

Released in May, 2005 for Windows, Dungeon Lords has been well-received commercially, selling in excess of 1 million copies worldwide in a variety of formats. 

Head here to see the whole thing.